Igniting your Thoughts – Encourging you to ACT SPOnTaneously

Three ways to harness your energy

The next time your attention is caught by a young toddler who is a handful for those in whose care he/ she is, notice that the toddler is full of raw energy. You too have grown up displaying similarly energy and zest only to be shackled over the years by chains of negative thoughts, self doubts, fear, lack of confidence and in many cases the festering wounds of failure, rebuke, criticism and in some cases rejection.

As long as you have life, you are a potent force of limitless energy; but you can use it profitably only if you light it up with your own initiative, daring and imagination. The energy is the same in each one of us but it is harnessed differently by different people at different times. The stoic zen master or yoga guru uses his/ her energy differently from the way a WWF wrestler or boxer would use it. The saying ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ is an acknowledgement that raw energy can be harnessed and channeled to be potent and effective.

To channelize your energy and harness it effectively, in a simple and practical manner, you need to be aware of the following:

Your thoughts begin it: Every single invention/ discovery / theory/ activity begins first as a thought; be it an idea/ a dream/ an obsession/ a desire or simply the urge to do something. Pause and reflect on the numerous thoughts going through your mind at this precise moment. Some of you be appreciative of the reading so far and would be energized to read further. There could be others who find it interesting but have other thoughts overriding their urge to read. There could be others wanting to bookmark the page for latter reading or some others wanting to become a subscriber of the blog. Irrespective of what your thoughts are, your energies will point you to the direction you have to or want to go.

Your emotions amplify it: While thoughts act like the ignition that starts the vehicle, it is your emotions that give you the direction and trigger the reflex action to engage gears and grip the steering wheel of your life so as to begin your journey towards your goal. Unfortunately, many of us mimic our childlike behavior when left unattended in a car. We sit on the driver’s seat and mimic the actions of a driver, pretending to use the steering and emitting the noise of an engine in an overdrive. We expend our energies in pretending to drive but remain stationary. It is therefore essential that we let positive / proactive / actionable emotions come naturally to us. Visualize possibilities/ success/ passion engulfing your thoughts and ideas and your will naturally be motivated to take steps to translate your thoughts in success.

Your actions give it the desired momentum: Now that you have started the ignition and your emotions have energized you towards your goal, you need to act. Action is the acceleration that is essential to gain momentum and is the most potent form of your energy. If you have read this far, it is not an accident but a conscious decision to act that began with the thought to read it, the positive emotion that the contents will be beneficial and your action to focus on the reading despite numerous other tempting options. ( For me too it was difficult to give up seeing the IPL and the EPL but then I knew my post was long overdue). So you would have noticed that both you and I can use our energy productively and the best part is that that is we have an endless supply of energy within us.

Try this

Write down the 5 most important things you need to achieve by the month end/ year end. Jot down 2 key activities that you have to do to achieve each of these goals. E.g. You want to buy a new home. Key things could be speaking to a bank to know loan amount you can get and identify a good real estate broker.

All of us want to increase our savings. There are two ways to do it. Increase your income or reduce your expenses. You have to identify 2 ways to increase your income and 3 ways to decrease your expenses. Remember to have a target in mind for the savings you hope to increase by acting on your plans.

Which of these positive qualities do you posses which you can harness effectively. ( you can add / identify other qualities not listed below)